Understand the original intention of Sexual Practices in Tantra, and how approaching Tantra as ONLY a sexual practice is limiting and a deep misunderstanding. Discover the deeper Sacred Intention.

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Hello, this is Jeff Craft, or Kali Das, and I am making a short video for you. This is going to be the first in a series of videos, where in each video I am going to be talking about a common myth that is associated with Tantra. This is the first video, and the first myth that I want to talk about is the idea that Tantra is about sex, or about sacred sexuality.

If we go back and look at the teachings of Tantra – if you look back to the sacred texts that are associated with them, you will notice something surprising. I know I was surprised when I first began to really dive deep into those texts, and the thing that is surprising is that sex is almost never mentioned.

Probably much like yourself, I first learned about Tantra as being a sexual practice as well, focused on creating more pleasure and better orgasms, and more stamina for men, and more pleasure, connection, intimacy, and those types of things. That was the way that it was introduced to me, and when I really started to go study it in a deeper way, I discovered that it was actually hard to find comments or mentions about sexuality in the original texts that are associated with Tantra.

As part of the myth that comes along with this idea of Tantra as sacred sexuality, some practitioners that teach Tantra will also insist that the Kama Sutra is a Tantric book. That really is also a myth. The Kama Sutra discusses lots of other things in addition to sex, but it ultimately is kind of an ancient version of The Joy of Sex. It shows positions and it shows other types of things about seeking pleasure in life.

In the Kama Sutra, there is some talk about there being 64 different arts, and again those tend to come more from Kama Sutra, and other types of cultural references, as opposed to truly being something that is specific to Tantra. It doesn’t mean that we can’t take those things into our tantric practice. We can make the Kama Sutra relevant, we can make the 64 sacred arts relevant to tantric practice, but they are not necessarily what they are often presented to be by some tantric teachers.

We are wanting to understand that these are just little pieces of things. When you dive deep enough, there are a few places in these original texts that do talk about and reference sexuality and rituals involving sexuality. But when you really understand the intention and the implication of why they are doing these sexual rituals, you will understand that there is a completely different context to what it is often associated with Tantra in our current time.

The authentic Tantric rituals that involved sexual activity are actually used as ways to expand ourselves into a deeper connection with divinity, with God. That was ultimately the higher intention of them. People would prepare for these rituals over periods of time so that they were actually not really so focused on the personal pleasure. Instead, they were focused on using sexual activity as a gateway into the bliss of divine consciousness.

That was really the invitation that it was used for, so it was used with that intention of connecting more deeply to divinity, but not necessarily with the intention of having better orgasms, or having more sex, having more interaction, etc. In fact there are a lot of rules that were laid down about who was really eligible to even interface with these particular activities, and they are probably more restrictive than some of the modern tantric ideas that are associated with sacred sexuality might lead you to believe. There were restrictions on who could interact with who, it was preferred that someone actually interact with their spouse, and not with a stranger. Of course, there were some other things that happened in that as well. It is not 100% black and white, but that is the general idea of it.

So, when we are looking at Tantra, we want to understand that the original intention in those sacred sexual practices, that are truly documented, was a gateway to divinity.

There are literally thousands of other tantric practices that have nothing to do with sexuality at all. Deciding that this one slice, this one sexual practice, is really the whole truth of Tantra is similar to imagining, for instance, that the purpose of Christianity is to drink wine – that practicing Christianity is about drinking wine.

Of course, I am referencing the idea of communion in Christianity. Whether you are Christian or not, you probably know and understand that there is a symbolism that is involved in the sipping of the wine. We are not chugging wine at a communion, we are taking sips. There is an intention of connecting more deeply with what is described as being the “blood of Christ”. To be inviting that intention of a deeper thing, because the wine has been blessed, we are bringing that blessed energy in with the intention of connecting to Christ through the communion process.

If someone came running up to you and telling you that to be a practicing Christian, all you have to do was drink wine, you would, of course, think they were crazy! Understandably so. There is a similar kind of mistake happening around tantric practices, where this one practice has been taken out of context and has been told to us as being the main practice. The mistaken notion that in Tantra you practice “this sexual thing”, like that’s the focus, and it is skipping over the original intention. There is a sacred intention behind the idea of communion, and there is also originally a sacred intention behind the use of sexual energy when it was used as part of a Tantric practice. But “sex” is not the totality of practice, or even connected to the deeper Intention of Tantra.

That is the end of myth #1. Feel free to make some comments below, and click on the links to my site and check out other things that I have going on, and look for myth #2 coming up soon!

Namaste.

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So, how can you go deeper into a genuine Tantric spiritual path?

If you are interested in exploring a path of transformation, growth, and evolution that weaves Spirituality, Sexual Wholeness and Conscious Relationship together, then check out my Tantric Transformation Foundations Online Class series that will get you started on a path of personal evolution. It will give you a whole new way to understand your Self, you Relationships and your Sexuality that will take you towards greater joy, vibrancy, love, and abundance.

Whether you are currently in a relationship or single, you will likely recognize the following if you’ve ever been in a relationship. And even if you are single, understanding this will help prepare you for your next relationship.

It has happened to the best of us. We get into a new relationship. We are excited, thinking we have found “The One”. Things are going great. And then one day, we wake up and realize that our life and relationship has become a little bit boring. Maybe routine.

We seem to have created routines. Maybe the sex life isn’t as active as it used to be. Maybe we’ve even put on a few pounds.
Certainly there are different versions of “routine”, but you get the idea right?

Sometimes people even mistakenly wonder if they are losing their spark, or falling out of love. You also may realize you still love this person, but you are just confused, thinking “Things use to be so exciting. And now, we just watch TV and eat dinner. What happened?”

How it happens

Now, let’s step back to the beginning of the relationship. If you are like most couples, that “New Love” stage is pretty exciting. You are discovering new things about each other. You are excited to better understand your new found soulmate. You want to know about their passions, their interests and their philosophies on life.

You are attracted to them, and desire the joy of physical connection, pleasure and passion.

Everything is new, and exciting and you are so high on love.. You feel indestructible and on top of the world.

And then, as time goes on, you better know the other person. You don’t need to hear again about the time your partner won a basketball game, or got drunk at prom.

In the beginning, there was so much undiscovered. And now, there is an inner mental file system labelled “All the things I know about my partner”. It has key memories they have shared. It includes what to expect when you make love. And there is also a slowly building special list of the things your partner does that irritates you.

And as you begin to feel more and more that you “know your partner”, you become less curious. And you begin to operate off of what you already know.

And as you do this, the level of excitement and the spark begins to lessen. And one day, you find yourself living in a routine where it’s rare that anything new and exciting is discovered or experienced.

But the routine becomes comfortable. So, at first it feels like stability and safety. Until the day it starts to feel restrictive. Until the day you start to wonder if something is wrong. Until the day some impulse inside you wants to find excitement again, and you struggle to figure out how to make it happen without upsetting the stability of the relationship.

The Key to Exciting Relationships is not intuitive.

What has frequently happened below the surface, is we have learned that the other person is a certain way. And they have learned we are a certain way. And we become acutely aware of trying to remain the person that our partner loves.

One common fear is that “if I change, he or she won’t love me anymore.” It’s not rational. And it may not even be conscious. But, there comes an unspoken agreement that “we need to keep things and ourselves the same so we are stable. I may lose you if I change.”

And this is where the trouble begins.

The nature of life is to grow, evolve and change. When we conspire against the natural order and try to keep things too consistent then we stagnate. And we also become afraid of anything that is unexpected or too far from our comfort zone. In this way of experiencing things, change brings fear. And in order to avoid fear, we cling to routine and the expected. Because change is threatening to “safe and comfortable”.

But when we do this, our Soul suffers. In order to not grow and change, we must pretend that our desires, passions, hopes, dreams and basic unmet needs don’t exist. We have to ignore our disappointments, not feel our inner sadness, or anger or frustration. We must disconnect from our own Inner Truth in order to keep things “safe”.

This is a problem for two reasons.

For one, you suffer. Life loses its passion. You sacrifice excitement for safety.

And two, your partner also suffers. Life loses its passion for your partner as well and he or she sacrifices excitement for safety.

So what is the path out? What’s the path back to excitement in a relationship that also honors the needs of both people to create some stability in the relationship?

Let’s go back to the early stage of relationship for a clue. You were both excited to discover new things about the other, and to learn everything you can about the other. You were both excited to experience the “newness” of what is undiscovered and possible in the new relationship.

What would happen if you were excited to discover new things about your partner again? What would happen if within the familiarity, trust and stability of a loving relationship, you both also focused on growing, evolving and experiencing new things?

What if you set aside that fear of change, and decided to follow your heart’s desire towards a new adventure, new career, new hobby, or new course of study?

What if you risked stability and shared your inner fears instead of ignoring them? What if you uprooted the limiting beliefs that had kept you feeling small, afraid and insecure and replaced them with confidence, radiant self-love and passion for life?

And what if your partner also did the same?

As you allow yourself to grow, to evolve and to connect with your Soul’s inner truth, life reawakens. Vibrancy and excitement returns to you. Clarity dawns and you find yourself enthusiastically in the flow of life again. Life IS Change, Growth and Transformation.

And as your partner also chooses to grow and evolve, the same happens for him or her.

And here’s the bonus: As your partner is growing and evolving, he or she is discovering new passions, new potentials, new experiences, new levels of success and new capacities for love, excitement, joy and aliveness. This means that as your partner grows and changes, you get to re-discover new things about your partner on an ongoing basis. Instead of thinking “I know everything about my partner”, you welcome discovering new things about them as they share their inner world and new adventures with you. Just like in the earlier, exciting stage of relationship you get to discover new things about your partner on a regular basis again.

And of course, your partner gets the excitement of rediscovering the new versions of you that evolve over time as well.

You get to support each other through the process. You get to share in the excitement of new levels of joy, freedom and success that you partner achieves. You get to watch the person you love blossom and flower into an even happier, more vibrant person.

The experience of life and relationship becomes exciting again. If you are both evolving and enjoying life, you infuse your relationship with the excitement and aliveness that it brings.

Here is the nutshell overview: By committing to a process of growth, healing and self discovery, you will bring passion back into your life. If you commit to this with your partner, you both reawaken passion for life. And that passion for life is brought into the relationship, which feeds the relationship. Plus you also get the excitement of experience both life and your partner as something which is evolving and transforming, rather than “static”. All within the safety and trust of a loving relationship.

So the unintuitive way to keep your relationship exciting, is actually for both partners to give attention to their own individual growth. To keep allowing yourself to imagine even higher potentials of success, love, adventure, purpose, abundance and joy, and then using the methods and healing practices that will help you keep evolving.

As you do this, you get your own exciting individual journey, and you also get to share the excitement of watching your partner grow as you offer support.

Of course, as the passion returns, you will find some common experiences to share together also. It will feed the relationship one way or another.

So, how do you go about the process of growth, healing and self discovery?

If you are interested in exploring a path of transformation, growth, and evolution that weaves Spirituality, Sexual Wholeness and Conscious Relationship together, then check out my Tantric Transformation Foundations Online Class series that will get you started on a path of personal evolution. It will give you a whole new way to understand your Self, you Relationships and your Sexuality that will take you towards greater joy, vibrancy, love, and abundance.

The exact moment of the New Moon in Sidereal Pisces will occur a little before 11pm on Monday March the 27th, 2017.

The New Moon is the reset point or beginning of a New Lunar cycle, and evolves its primary theme through the course of that cycle.

Pisces is a Water sign that is ruled by Jupiter. The element of Water connects us more deeply to our emotions. And Jupiter itself is the part of us that is seeking higher truth, wisdom and wishes to expand in consciousness.

As Jupiter operates through Water, it takes our seeking of truth into a deeper intuitive and emotional level. It invites us to connect deeply into the deeper mysteries of life and Self.

In Pisces, we learn the final implications of Karma and the spiritual wisdom of releasing attachment. A deeper connection to our true Spiritual nature is sought in Pisces, and letting go of the world of attachment is necessary.

Pisces teaches us surrender in the mode of the famous Serenity Prayer. We learn to accept the things we cannot change, to have courage to make the changes that we can, and we develop the wisdom to know the difference.

Pisces also takes us deeper spiritually, because in order for us to expand our inner experience of True Self, we must shift our relationship with the outer world. This comes through letting go of the world. We must release our obsessive attachments to the things of the world we have imagined our the source of our happiness. As we do, we becoming freer within our Self and able to navigate the world with less expectation and attachment. Thus, we suffer less because we are less attached to what happiness “should” look like.

This is designed to be a process of maturation and evolving discrimination of Truth from falsehood. But the desire to surrender and find that inner freedom sometimes takes the initial desire of just wanted to escape from the world. And this become a potential challenge for Pisces energy, in that we may find ourselves creating unhealthy ways to be free of the world.

A healthy way would be a consistent meditation practice. An unhealthy way would be using sensual indulgence, alcohol and drugs in an obsessive and unconscious way.

As Pisces teaches us surrender and the release of attachments, we may sometime experience this energy as Loss. It can be painful if the attachment is strong. As we evolve, we become more accepting of the natural process of loss, and begin to recognize and accept that all things must come to an end. Pisces is a sign of Completions in this way. It brings cycles to an end and invites us to consciously release that which no longer serves us.

And so here in Pisces, the Sun and Moon will join together for the New Moon. The New Moon is a dark moon, which represent the opportunity to turn within and connect more deeply with our subconscious and inner wisdom. And Pisces itself is one of the most inwardly reflective signs, inviting a deep opportunity to access our intuition and connect to our innermost Wisdom and Spiritual Self.

This New Moon is a great opportunity for Meditation, for accessing spiritual insight and for cultivating a deeper connection to your Spiritual Self. It’s also a great opportunity to allow that deeper connection to express itself through you and into the world. Because of its connection to wisdom, emotion and the deeper nature of Spiritual Consciousness, Pisces opens a quality of compassion, love and the desire to express that kindness and love into the world.

Because Retrograde Venus in in Pisces also, the energy of this specific New Moon will have a deeper reflection around relationships and the search for happiness. You may find yourself reconnecting to past relationships, or maybe just having past relationship experiences coming to mind or maybe reflecting in your dreams.

With the position, it’s a great time to release old relationship patterns and re-establish new ways of being in relationship that are based upon honoring the Spark of Spirit that dwells in others. It’s a chance to bring greater compassion and love to current and past relationships. And it’s also a great time to allow yourself to bring past grudges to completion and allow the deeper love to flow into forgiveness.

These themes will be evolving over the next 28 days through this lunar cycle. Take time to recognize what is being revealed to you around relationships. Also be aware of the call to connect more deeply inward to your Spiritual Self, while also being mindful that it doesn’t turn into unhealthy escapism.

Reflect on what is wanting to be released from your life. What cycles of your life are coming to a completion? And how can you use the inner intuitive wisdom to begin to recognize the seeds for what is wanting to awaken as you move into rebirth? Connect to your inner vision for the next steps of your life, your spiritual path and your relationships.

How are you experiencing this New Moon in Pisces window?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

On February 10th around 7:30pm ET we will reach the height of the Full Moon in Sidereal Cancer. This is the half way point in the Lunar Cycle that began with the New Moon in Capricorn.

This particular Full Moon also happens to be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, where the outer edges of the Earth’s shadow cross the Moon and dim its light.

Eclipses happen when the Moon and Sun get close to the Lunar Nodes which are known as Rahu and Ketu in Vedic Astrology. The Nodes bring heightened Karmic acceleration to the usual Full Moon.

In this particular case, the New Moon began a Lunar cycle with themes around commitment to your goals and desires for success, while learning how to overcome obstacles to reaching that success.

The Full Moon always brings the balancing energy. Where Capricorn is focused on creating systems and structure as a means of consistence action and vision towards a goal, Cancer energy is about the vulnerability of the Heart and our search for Love and Peace within.

Imagine what would happen if you simply pursued success at all costs, without any emotional connection. It’s true that we often times need to be able to make non-emotionally decisions when we pursue a goal, because we need to be practical and determine the best steps. But if we live ONLY in that experience, we could become ruthless towards success without concern for anything but our own desires for success. We might also simply burn out, being so committed that we never stop to rest, to receive, to celebrate.

The Full Moon in Cancer brings the balancing energy to this. It invites us to maintain the vision of success, while also balancing it with emotional sensitivity. It reminds us that we need to have a private life where we connect to our family and friends with love, kindness and peace, or at least connect to our own Heart in a space of self care and nurturing.

We must balance our career with our home life in some way. We must honor the cycles of work and rest, just as the Sun can shine all day and then night comes to balance and take us to rest.

The Eclipse effect of the Nodes will bring some accelerated awareness into this theme. It will potentially bring into awareness our subconscious patterning around our capacity to feel our emotions, to be vulnerable, to connect to others and find peaceful emotions. And since the Moon is close to Rahu, there may even be a strong desire to feel more, create comfort and rest rather than pursuing your committed goals and visions of success. We may feel a craving to connect, or even confusion around the ways our emotions are operating right now.

It’s fine to honor the need to rest, to slow down and to connect with life and others. Keep your commitments in mind, though so you don’t let them slip away. You may also use this time consciously to bring MORE heart, love and connection into your goals and commitments. Can you pursue your successes and vision while bring more emotion and love to fuel it?

I invite you to sit with this energy, and just notice what you feel. Are you feeling the desire to slow down and connect? Are you feeling a need to rest? Are you commitments feeling more emotionally overwhelming right now?

And how can you use this window to really sit with the question of how to create greater balance between your career and your private life. How can you balance your committed visions of success with your need to rest and connect your heart to someone or something that brings peace and love to you as well?

What are you noticing during this Full Moon Eclipse period?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

On January 27th, 2017 around 7:07pm EST the exact point of the New Moon will in the sign of Sidereal Capricorn.

The New Moon brings together the Sun and Moon in the same section of the sky, causing the Moon to appear dark from our perspective on Earth. It represents the starting point of a new Lunar cycle, bringing our Soul’s Power (Sun) and our deeper Mind and Feeling nature (Moon) together. Out of this connection, we are invited to plant a seed of intention and action for a new cycle of growth.

Capricorn is an Earth sign that is ruled by Saturn. Saturn teaches us control and commitment by exposing us to the impermanence of life. Everything will eventually end, and things that are not consistently developed over the long term will not have a chance to survive. So Saturn teaches us that we must be willing to do practical work in the world in order to put what we have learned into action and succeed.

As an Earth Sign, Capricorn is materially oriented and focused on practical, grounded material success. And Saturn teaches us that we must be willing to do practical work in the world in order to put what we have learned into action and succeed.

Capricorn is also oriented towards protection. It is often looking to avoid problems and can be a great problem solver that is able to avoid and remove obstacles to success.

The New Moon in Capricorn begins a cycle with themes of committing to goals of success. And in order to succeed at the goals we have, we must also face the tangible fears of the world in order to overcome them and develop our capacity to commit and develop determination in succeeding.

This New Moon is taking place in the Nakshatra of Shravana, which emphasizes the need to listen so that we can grasp and understand the world around us and the situation we find ourselves in. This listening include the willingness to hear the views of others with bias. And it is also the ability to listen to our own inner wisdom and guidance. When we do these things, we are able to organize these deeper perspectives in wisdom and ensure that our goals and commitments are truly worth pursuing.

The potential challenge of this Nakshatra placement is that if we don’t invite listening with the intention of seeking truth, that we may fall into gossip or allow our perceptions to be controlled by public opinion, instead of from the Still Silent voice within.

So, I encourage you to take a moment and tune out the news, social media and all of the conflicting opinions and drama that we are all constantly being bombarded with. Stop assuming the News is the truth. Stop assuming that articles your friend’s share on Facebook are giving you more truth. And instead, tune into your heart. Tune into your intuition, and connect to the power of your Soul to illuminate truth.

Out of that inner voice, let yourself see clearly what control you do or don’t have over the current state of your life and of the world. Let yourself clearly see what goals and commitments are worth pursuing. What has been blocking clarity of mind? What has been blocking practical, committed effort to work towards the goals that matter most to you? How can you remove those obstacles? And what practical steps do you need to commit to in order to consciously direct your life into a more positive, fulfilling direction?

What practical systems or plans can you implement that will allow you to reach greater success while destroying fears that have kept you from moving forward?

Please share your insights below. 🙂

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

The New Moon in Sagittarius will occur around 3:50am EST on December 29th, 2016. This begins a new lunar cycle and the energy of the New Moon is active for 2 days before and after the actual event.

The New Moon brings the Sun and Moon together into Sidereal Sagittarius, where our Soul and Mind will gain renewed hope, optimism and a sense of meaning and purpose. Sagittarius is a sign of inspiration which seeks higher truth, new teachings and a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and our own existence.

As a fire sign, it illumines truth and inspires action. It is ruled by Jupiter, which is the planet of expansion and growth. And thus, our minds and souls will be inspired to expand into new understanding and act based upon the principles and purpose that we hold to be True.

The New Moon is a seed point for the lunar cycle, and these themes and this search for higher truth and meaning will be prominent for the next 4 weeks.

Mercury is also in Sagittarius at this time, and brings speech and communication into connection with the our soul’s power and our feeling nature. While we may be inspired to talk and share our principles and philosophies with others, because Mercury is currently retrograde, it is actually a time of inner reflection.

In this position, we are invited to reflect over our understanding of the teachings and philosophies that we have adopted. And to even inwardly reflect on whether our core principles still serve us, or whether it may be time to let some go or step into a higher place of wisdom around them.

Venus also just entered Aquarius, where it joins Ketu and Mars. This will bring our relationships and personal search for happiness into connection with the parts of us that scrutinize (Ketu) and protect and defend (Mars). We may find ourselves in conflict with others, and either defending our own views, or being attacked by others for our views.

The conjunction of these three planets will challenge us to stay centered and remain mindful of compromise and the seeking of mutually respectful interactions and perspectives.

I encourage you to use this time to reflect upon your own principles and the teachings about life, meaning and purpose that you hold close. For most people, this connects to our spiritual quest or our religious beliefs. But, it can also connect to other areas as well, such as how you choose to honor and lift yourself or others up.

I also encourage you to be mindful of any conflicts with others that may be wanting to form. Between the Venus, Mars, Ketu conjunction and the Mercury retrograde it is likely that misunderstandings can occur that would result in anger, arguments and even violence. Try to remain present and avert situations before they escalate. If it is an important topic that truly needs to be discussed, you can always revisit it later when there is greater support for open communication and mutual respect.

How are you experiencing these energies in your own life?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

The exact point of the Full Moon will happen at 7:06pm EST on Tuesday, December 13th, 2016. It will be in Sidereal Taurus, opposite the Sun in Scorpio. The effect of the Full Moon will be felt most strongly for two days before and after the exact time.

The Full Moon is the midpoint in the Lunar cycle and is an integration point. It is when the mind and feeling nature (Moon) try to balance and harmonize with the power of our soul and sense of self (Sun).

This Lunar Cycle began with the New Moon in Scorpio, and we are now at the midpoint with the Full Moon. The New Moon invited a deeper awareness of the fears and insecurities that are dwelling below the surface of awareness, while also inviting us to explore more deeply our hidden power and potential. This process creates transformation, although it sometimes comes with emotional ups and down, unexpected experiences or sudden changes.

The Sun as Soul’s power is still in Scorpio, but the Mind and feelings shown by the Moon have come into Taurus. The Moon and Mind are given greater groundedness and stability here to help harmonize the instability often created by Scorpio.

As the Moon comes into Taurus, it reminds us that comfort, pleasure and enjoyment of family and our material resources helps us to feel more secure and more stable. Good food, a massage, some sensual indulgence of pleasure, nature, and good times with our family and friends helps to bring some enjoyment back in to life. It reminds us that life can be good, and makes the ups and down of life easier to handle.

So, I encourage you to allow yourself to relax, to rest and to enjoy the things that bring you happiness and pleasure in the world. Allow your senses to enjoy the tastes, the pleasures, the textures, the beauty and the smells that are most expanding, inspiring and delightful to you. Reconnect with the joys and pleasures that life has to offer, and see how that helps to stabilize your mind and balance out the changes and unknown factors we have all been experiencing recently.

Mercury is currently in Sagittarius, which brings some inspiration and hope to our speech and communication. And Venus is in Capricorn, reminding us of the need to create proper boundaries in relationships, and to be practical in pursuing happiness and pleasure.

Mercury will also be turning Retrograde on Dec 19th. So, it will begin slowing down between the Full Moon and the 19th. You may feel communications slowing down also, or coming to a halt in preparation for deeper inner reflection during the retrograde period.

What experiences are you noticing with the Full Moon energy and the current lunar cycles? Have you been feeling the ups and downs and the instability of change in the last couple of weeks? And are you also feeling the fullness and the stabilizing forces of the Full Moon and the desire to enjoy life again?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

During the Morning of November 29th, the New Moon will occur in the sign of Sidereal Scorpio. The New Moon is when the Sun and Moon are in the same degree of the same area of the sky, and it marks the beginning of a new Lunar cycle.

The Sun represents our personal power and sense of self identity, and the moon represents our mind, emotional heart and capacity to feel. And Scorpio is a sign where we are learning to strengthen our emotional self.

Scorpio is ruled by Mars, which is our courage and strength. And Scorpio is also a water sign, which reveals its connection to our Emotional nature. Scorpio teaches us to develop our strength and courage by learning to face fears, insecurities and the hidden parts of our selves. When we face with the mindset of accepting rather than rejecting we integrate them, and the emotional and psychic energy that was previously used to push these things away or reject them becomes available to use in more positive ways.

Scorpio is a sign of transformation, where we face the ups and downs of life and our own inner nature. Through Scorpio’s influence, we learn that when life brings us challenges and conflicts that it is really an invitation to grow, heal and evolve.

With Mars itself in Capricorn right now, we are given extra support to use our strength and courage in committed and disciplined ways. While the New Moon itself invites the process of facing our fears and hidden nature.

You may notice many opportunities to grow, to transform and to heal at this time. But it’s important that you be paying attention to recognize the invitation. If you aren’t paying attention, then it may simply feel like conflict, insecurity and emotional pain. You may even act out some of the shadow or hidden parts of your inner nature.

Saturn is still in Scorpio, which brings added influence around bringing up fears. But it also has been doing the work of teaching us how to commit to this process of growth and transformation.

This New Moon plants the seed into our hearts and minds to explore this process of transformation through facing our fears and embracing our hidden nature, the dark or shadow parts of our psyche.

Mercury and Venus are both in Sagittarius right now. Mercury here will support our speech, communication and intellectual curiosity to be connected to inspiration, hope and a desire for higher teachings and wisdom. And Venus here will connect our capacity for happiness with higher teachings and principles as well.

Through the arrangement of Sun, Moon and Saturn in Scorpio, Venus and Mercury in Sagittarius and Mars in Capricorn, there is a strong bridge of change and inspiration occurring. As we face fears and disappointments in Scorpio, we are inspired to seek higher truth and meaning for our lives in Sagittarius. And Capricorn invites us to explore the level of commitment and responsibility we are willing to take on to put our principles into action in the world.

Out of the darkness and pain of Scorpio arises the inspiration to seek deeper meaning in the world beyond our individual suffering. Scorpio becomes a transformational cauldron that changes the inner vibrations of our emotional heart and our subconscious desires in order to support a higher vision for our life.

During this time, I suggest you pay special attention to the conflicts, the challenges and the painful experiences that arise. And try to remember they are invitations to healing and to grow. Rather than resisting your inner discomfort, be willing to sit with it. Smile at it. Get to know it.

Be willing to sit with the unknown and the parts of yourself that live in the shadows that you have not yet fully understood or accepted. Your presence to simply be with all of this without judgement will infuse acceptance and love into these places within you, which helps to heal them and weave them back into your experience of Wholeness.

The energy released and freed up from this process can then be directed into greater strength and positive potential in the world. It allows you to literally raise your vibration and become more confident, joyful and vibrant in the world.

This process happening in Scorpio is really the place where Tantra begins. Discovering our hidden power, transforming our fears and insecurities into strengths and consciously shifting our vibration into higher and higher states. This is the path of Conscious Evolution and Growth, or Tantra.

What are you noticing in your life and around you in relationship to these themes?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

The New Moon in Libra on October 30th began a new Lunar Cycle focusing on exploring our happiness with others and the ways we may lose our own personal power if we lose connection with our own needs and instead focus only on giving others what they want.

Libra is very much about learning compromise in relationships with others and finding interpersonal and social equality. The challenge for the Sun here is that the Sun represent our Personal Power, and it can lose its focus and confidence when faced with feeling the need to ensure the happiness of others.

When the Sun is in Libra, we can become too concerned with what others think of us to be able to be true to ourselves. And we may also become too influenced by the ideas and needs of those around us to remain clear on what we even want or what is important to us.

As a reflection of this, I know many people who just before, during and following the election have “taken a break from Facebook”. Navigating all of the opinions, reactions, fear, and negativity from friends and others became just too overwhelming to be able to remain centered in one’s own truth and maintain a sense of peace.

The Full Moon in Aries at 9am EST on November 14th, 2016 is that natural balance point to this challenging placement of the Sun. The Sun remains in Libra, but the Moon (Mind) enters Aries where it has a chance to recharge and strengthen its own individual Will. Aries invites the Moon to feel inspired, confidence and strong. This reminds us that even when we are connected to other, we must also be able to access our individual strength and courage.

By keeping our Mind and inner heart connected to our own strength and sense of personal power, we are able to more easily remain strong even in relationship to the needs and opinions of others. This should inspire some new hope and optimism.

And early on November 16th, the Sun will shift into Scorpio which will help to facilitate a change in our perception of power. In order to change them, we may collectively need to face some practical truths.

What experiences have you had over the last week or two in relationship to your sense of personal power in connection to other people? And what are you feeling now as the Full Moon is active and carrying your forward?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.

The current Lunar cycle began with the New Moon in Virgo on October 1st. This cycle invites a focus on the details of our lives that we need to manage and pay attention to in order to create greater health and happiness. This includes exploring the details of diet, sleep routines, digestion, daily routines, and the organization (or lack thereof) we use for setting goals and accomplishing them.

Early morning on October 16th, the Full Moon in Pisces will represent the midpoint of this cycle. Where Virgo represents the intelligent exploration of details, patterns and routines, Pisces is an invitation to let go and surrender.

On one hand, it reminds us that we must find a balance between “the details” and “the big picture”. Obsessing over details can create stress, tension and anxiety. So, first, we need to find the balance. How can we focus on the details while also keeping an open enough perspective we don’t get caught in them? This is in many ways a repeated theme from the Lunar eclipse in Pisces that occurred a month ago.

As part of the current Lunar cycle, it is also about managing the choices we make around our life, daily routines and health. After looking over all these details around health and how we manage our “kingdom” of life, we must also acknowledge at some point that we can’t do everything that is possible. We must narrow things down and select only the best, most effective and impactful choices for us. Pisces as the balance point invites us to begin to surrender and let go of the choices and options that are the lesser or bad choices.

In Virgo, part of the stress itself can actually come from too many choices and not being sure which path to take. Pisces, its opposite and balancing force, is about endings and completions. Letting go and surrender. So, at this time, there may be a process which is revealing what needs to be let go of. This may happen by conscious awareness of seeing that one path feels promising while the other is beginning to reveal its weaknesses and its lack of passion.

Or, if we aren’t consciously paying attention, then the Pisces energy may simply take some of our options away. They will no longer be available to us, and what remains will be the choice that remains.

With Jupiter and Mercury with the Sun in Virgo, they will bring extra grace and discrimination into our soul’s power and the ego’s exploration of these details.

Venus has recently joined Saturn in Scorpio, where our sense of happiness and our personal relationships may begin to feel some pressure. And Scorpio will bring our deeper insecurities to the surface. So if you find yourself experiencing discomfort in your relationships, slow down and use it as an opportunity to heal the inner causes of pain and conflict.

As you look at these influences in your inner and out life, notice what is showing up. What are you ready to let go of? Which details and routines should be kept?

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The above is a general Vedic Astrology Forecast. It discusses the shifts that are happening at the level of the Collective experience, as well as how you can use that Collective energy for your own growth and evolution.

For a detailed reading of how the Planetary cycles will impact you personally, you should schedule a private Vedic Astrology Reading.